


Coffee, Long Sleeves, and a Messy Bun

by MerakiForest



Category: Midnight Poppy Land (Webcomic)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, F/M, First Meetings, Fluff, Meet-Cute, lactose intolerant
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-23
Updated: 2020-05-23
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:53:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,159
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24343813
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MerakiForest/pseuds/MerakiForest
Summary: Tora is a jaded barista working at Alice's coffee shop when one morning he meets a college student who shakes him loose from his disinterest in life.
Relationships: Tora/Poppy Wilkes
Comments: 21
Kudos: 116





	Coffee, Long Sleeves, and a Messy Bun

"Welcome to Death By Coffee. What would ya like to order?" 

Tora just stared down at the fidgeting customer, a tall young woman with a skirt that seemed too short for the November chill and a top cut low enough to expose her push-up bra and bosom. His golden eyes watched as she fidgeted and her face remained red with a blush.

"Uh, um, I don't know yet..."

"That's fine. Take ya time."

She stuttered out her thanks and he looked over her head at the line of disgruntled and anxious customers. The usual rush before work and school was always his least favorite part of the work day, but he worked hard to keep his snark to himself. Alice would be disappointed in him if he chased off her customers and that wasn't exactly the best way to show your gratitude to the woman who bought you out of a life of crime and death. He tugged a little self-consciously at his long sleeves. They were annoyingly constrictive over his well-muscled arms, but they also did a good job of covering his tattoos. 

The woman finally placed her order with a few over dramatic giggles and he tried not to roll his eyes. She wasn't the first customer to try flirting with him, but he wasn't interested. He'd seen more than enough of the superficial and fake to last a lifetime. In fact, most of the time now he felt a glimmer of sadness behind the annoyance. Sadness that so many girls and women had bought into the lies of beauty and attractiveness and that so many loathsome men fed into it. 

It was easy to fall into a passive rhythm of punching in the orders and whipping out the coffee and baked goods. Occasionally some extra help would come in during the morning rush but he had gotten pretty used to taking care of everything but the brewing and baking. Alice was well known for how strong she could brew and for her secret menu that added splashes of alcohol to the drinks if you were lucky enough to know about it. Even her baked goods were notoriously good - the amount of butter that she used in them probably deserved an FDA warning or something. Tora rejected a few advances and pushed out all the orders with the ruthless effectiveness that had made him successful in more unsavory business.

"Welcome to Death By Coffee. What would ya like to order?" 

The rush had finally slowed down and there was only one customer standing at the counter.

"Do you have any non-dairy milks available?"

The question shook Tora out of his haze and he looked down at the brown-eyed woman staring earnestly at him. She was wearing pastels and looked far too awake at this morning hour to need coffee, but the bags under her eyes and the satchel over her shoulder spoke of a college student probably binge-studying.

"Soy and almond."

"Oh, that's so wonderful!" she exclaimed excitedly, clapping her hands together. 

Strangely, Tora felt himself blush and straighten up as if he himself had won some kind of award. "Er, okay. What do ya want?"

"Are any of your baked goods dairy-free?"

Her eyes stared confidently into his and he felt a little unsteady. 

"Uh, we get these in every morning from the vegan bakery down a ways," he stumbled as he gestured to the far end of the glass display. "C-coconut milk I think is what they used. Is that okay?"

"Perfect!" she declared happily. "I'll take the chocolate muffin than and have a cappuccino. Soy is good."

"Okay. Right." 

He pressed the buttons hastily on the screen to process the order and then went to make it. He glanced over his shoulder and she wore a large open grin. It was a strange thing to have this early in the morning. 

"Thank you so much," she stated easily as he placed the paper sack with her muffin in front of her on the counter. "I've never gotten anything from this place before and its so nice to find places that cater to my dairy-intolerance. I know that not everywhere does but it's nice when they do. Are you lactose intolerant too?"

He carefully frothed the soy milk. "Nah, I can drink cow milk just fine."

"Oh. Well thank you for being knowledgeable about the products." She smiled warmly. "There are so many employees that don't know or don't care to know about the different stuff that their shop has. It gets to be frustrating sometimes."

"I guess."

Her smile never wavered and she kept her eyes following him and offered direct eye contact any time he looked over. It was strange and he wasn't sure what to make of it. 

"What kind of coffee do you like?" she asked as she leaned forward and rested her chin on her palm.

"I don't."

"It's a funny place to work at if you don't like coffee," she laughed cheerily. He waited for her to press on why he was was working here but she surprised him. "Well, you must have your reasons and I have to say that I'm thankful that you do work here."

He sat her completed drink in front of her in its insulated cup. "Is that all?"

"Oh, yes. Sorry to be a bother."

He mentally slapped himself for coming across so brusquely. "You're...ah, you're no bother. I'm just a grouch."

The corners of her eyes crinkled as she laughed heartily and he found himself smiling along.

"Ah, thanks for the breakfast and for the laugh, Mr..." She glanced at his name tag. "Mr. Tora."

"Just call me Tora."

Her hand softly brushed against his as she paid the bill and he felt a strange heat flood his body. It wasn't the first time he had been in close contact with a female and he felt puzzled over his reactions with this girl. From most people's perspective there was nothing particularly alluring about her. She was short and pleasantly plump, with plain honey brown eyes and brown hair. She wasn't wearing any makeup and her hair was thrown up in a messy bun that looked like she might have slept in it. Her clothes were not name brand and her purse and satchel were both well worn. She wore tennis shoes that did nothing to flatter her legs or feet.

"You can call me Poppy," she replied back with a smile and rosy cheeks. "My name is Poppylan but I rather just go by Poppy."

"Okay." 

She gathered up her goods and turned to the door. Golden eyes followed her as she grabbed the door and paused. Looking over her shoulder, she waved her cup carefully and offered one last blinding smile.

"See you later, Tora!"

He waved back slowly and wondered if she would come back in. Maybe next time he would say more than two words.

"See ya...Poppy."

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed it, and feel free to let me know if you'd be interested in seeing more from this AU. You can also chat me up on Tumblr at @merakiforest.


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